The constitution amendment bill to keep Assam out of the implementation of the land boundary agreement with Bangladesh is not likely to come up before India's Rajya Sabha today.
Parliament sources said the bill did not figure in the list of today's business schedule of the Rajya Sabha.
The revised bill to exclude the northeastern state has been vehemently opposed by India's main opposition party Congress in the Rajya Sabha where the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi lacks majority to push it through.
The bill will not come up today as was earlier indicated by Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu last Thursday.
With just a week left for the closure of the budget session of parliament, the bill is unlikely to figure in the Rajya Sabha during this session.
Meanwhile, the chief minister of Assam yesterday charged Narendra Modi with practising "double standards for narrow political gain" by proposing to exclude Assam from the purview of the land swap deal.
"The Prime Minister [Modi] had last year said in Cuwahati that the agreement is good for Assam. Now why are you excluding it? "You have one stand before poll and another after! It is double standard for narrow political gains," Tarun Gogoi told a press conference in Guwahati, the capital city of Assam.
Gogoi, who has already shot off a letter to Modi a few days ago opposing Assam's exclusion, also said the Centre should have consulted the state before proposing any change to the deal.
"He [Modi] talks of cooperative federalism. But what kind of federalism is this where the concerned chief minister is not consulted at all? Our stand has remained the same all along. We still think that this is good for Assam and it will help in stopping infiltration from Bangladesh," Gogoi said.
On November 30 last year, Modi had said at a party workers' rally in the state capital that his government would go ahead with the land boundary agreement (LBA) with Bangladesh for a permanent solution to infiltration issue keeping in mind the welfare of Assam.
"I know Assam's problems. I assure you all that there will be no compromise on Assam's security. Land swapping will be done for a permanent solution," the PM had said.
"1 know the sentiment of Assamese people regarding land swapping deal.
I assure you, we will move ahead considering India and Assam's welfare.
"Assam will gain in long term even if it looks like losing in short term," he had said then.
The BJP unit in Assam has opposed the exchange of enclaves between Bangladesh and India involving the territory of Assam.
The party now wants to exclude Assam due to sensitivities in the state where BJP aspires to come to power in Assembly polls due early next year.
BJP LEADERS MEET
Top BJP leadership last night met at the residence of party chief Amit Shah to discuss matters related to Assam, including the land boundary agreement with Bangladesh.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and RSS Join General Secretary Krishna Gopal were present.
Sources said the leaders discussed the Assam assembly elections scheduled for next year and the party's strategy for the same. Besides, ramifications of delinking Assam from the land boundary bill also came up for discussion.
Party leaders from Assam were also present at the meeting which lasted for several hours.